Xenia van Helsing
, |occupation= |affiliation= |base of operations= |entrance exam= |quirk apprehension= |debut= |voice= }} Xenia van Helsing (バン ヘルシングジーニア, Ban Herushingu Jīnia) is a for hire operating in the reaches of eastern Europe and western Asia. Raised in an impoverished neighborhood of , by an alcoholic single mother, Xen would learn from a young age that she had to fight for what she wanted. At first this meant just food, but after being kicked out at the age of 6, it would evolve into all basic needs. In the process of procuring these, she would soon uncover a love for combat, first falling for it when her fist collided with a boy's face, crushing his nose as blood squirted out. From there Xenia would climb the rankings, realizing she was stronger, faster, sharper, and more brutal then any other streetrat she met. Since discovering her Quirk, the young woman broadened her reach, looking for strong opponents across the moral spectrum that she can crush underfoot. Appearance Giant, imposing, with an intimidating aura. That is how most would describe Xenia upon first meeting her. When not in combat settings, her expression alternates between coldness and indifference, resulting in a chilling sensation. Standing at around 6'1, she towers over her female contemporaries and a fair amount of men; some claim mistakenly that Xen is even taller. Evidence of her life on the streets is visible in fading scars that criss-cross her frame, with a prominent one on her right forearm. A part of her relishes in these as "badges of honor" and a warning to predators that someone bigger and badder has entered the space. Her hair is an unremarkable ash brown, somewhat unruly in nature though kept at upper-back length for the sake of manageability. Contrasting with this somewhat dull backdrop are striking pink eyes, vivid in hue against warm alabaster skin. Despite appearing in "rough" shape due to her scars, those eyes are a sign of vitality that feeds into Xenia's intimidating aura. The woman's attire meanwhile, is rather simple, normally consisting of a white tanktop and matching pants. She commonly dons this attire for the sake of practicality, as it least interferes with her transformation type quirk. While not flaunting them, the woman does possess some feminine traits, albeit limited by her leanly muscular frame. In terms of footwear, she will either don sandals or sneakers depending on the terrain, with the occasional barefoot excursion should find footwear too limiting. Alternatively, she will make use of a t-shirt and shorts, both white as well, showing an affinity for the color. When on long journeys, Xenia will add a traveling cloak that covers her entire frame and neck, meant to shield her from the elements. Together, they make for a figure that is enigmatic as it is disconcerting. Personality By Xenia's own admission, she is a rather straightforward person. She lives for the fight in general and invigorating combat in particular; indeed, her mood depends on the matter. The young woman judges an individual's worth based upon their strength; anything else matters not. While originally limited to physical feats accomplished by the potential adversary, she would later expand this label to talent, intelligence, versatility, or affinity upon reaching a wider frame of reference. Eventually, it would become her reference for anything that set an person apart from the masses. Because strength is her sole motivation for engaging anyone, and for taking mercenary gigs, Xenia remains wholly indifferent to the ideologies of villains, heroes, and vigilantes. Her only concern is if the person can fight, and if they can, can they fight well. This often gives the woman the appearance of being reserved if not stoic, only to be betrayed by eyes that brim with vitality and watchful curiosity. Coupled with her intimidating aura, Xen is often found alone, as very few dare to get close to her. However, this aloofness dispels immediately upon sensing a strong adversary. Instead of a cold expression she wears a daredevil sneer as her body tingles. In the lead-up to combat, becomes animated, talkative, and rather expressive, if along the lines of wondering how long her opponent will last, whether they're strong enough to face her or if she'll have to hold back, etc. Especially strong opponents signal those who are able to land hits and devastating blows on her; these are greeted by euphoric laughter that hints at some masochistic tendencies. Indeed there are times where she'll take blows on purpose just to have a feel for the individual. Regardless, once combat commences she is merciless, seeking to maim, destroy, and break. Among the things that fill her with the most ecstasy is breaking an opponent's strength; seeing that look of horror as the realization sets in for them is priceless to Xenia. Increasingly common for her are battles to the death regardless of the foe's alignment or affiliation, with the end being a decimated corpse. As a result of the trail of bodies she has left in her wake, Xenia has come to be reviled as a villain, with most ignoring the fact that she has come after heroes, villains, and others in roughly equal measure. However, this is one type of circumstance where Xenia will make an exception: potential. Years after defeating and killing the warlord who had left her for dead, she would realize this was the reason why he had done so. Despite losing badly, there were glimpses of her strength as she managed to land a blow or two before being decidedly overwhelmed. Taking this lesson to heart, she applies the same principles to opponents that she defeats, using acute observation skills that not only discern their weaknesses, but potential strengths. Should the woman finds enough that is to her liking, Xen will leave them alive after vanquishing them, albeit in a rather perilous state. In her mind that's the first test; if they can survive death's door then they deserve the chance to improve themselves. Part of the purpose for the brutal, incessant beatdown she delivers is to burn herself into their mind, making sure they do in fact come looking for her once again. Of course, Xenia won't spend time resting on her laurels, but she knows they will be stronger, sharper, and more dangerous. Something that sets her heart ablaze with anticipation. History Abilities Quirk Lycanthropy (狼男, Ōkamiotoko): This is a quirk that Xenia first activated as a child on the streets of Bucharest. With it, the woman is granted the full suite of capabilities available to a wolf, but driven by a still largely human mind. She notes that the quirk is part of the reason for her incredibly strong immune system, "having never been sick a day in her life." Among the traits she can utilize are changing various parts of her body to that of a wolf to attain a particular advantage; for example, she can retool her nose to that of a wolf's to track down familiar scents, discern between similar smells, or simply increase her sensitivity to her surroundings and its odors. Likewise, Xen change her eyes to that of the animal's to see better in very low light settings (ex. a cave) or during the nighttime and attune her hearing to catch sounds out of the human ear range. Beyond these largely invisible changes, however, lie other, more tangible routes. She has the ability to transform portions of her body, rearranging her mouth to have dozens of deathly sharp incisors and brutal canines. She can also alter her arms or legs to possess the muscle composition of a wolf, endowing her with far greater strength and speed; adding the fur gives her a stronger defense and protection albeit limited in scope. Pushing it further will give rise to a hybrid transformation as her body's physiology moves closer to a wolf while retaining bipedal functions and an anthropomorphic shape. Nevertheless, the process is said to be extremely painful, as her internal composition is slowly torn apart in agonizing fashion. This includes the shredding of muscles and snapping off nerves as they are rewired and reshaped while larger animal organs are forced into a still largely human body. As expected, her final form is that of a true wolf, albeit one that is far larger than the average canis lupus. Standing around the size of a small pony; though she can force this complete transformation on her own, it takes the agonizing pain of being reconstructed into a hybrid and multiples it several fold. Xenia describes it as being "drawn and quartered, guillotined, hung on the end of a noose, broken on the wheel, burned at the stake and submerged in acid all at once". However, once complete, the changes are breathtaking. Beyond her mammoth size, which is sufficient for crushing most humans and quirk users with body weight and proportions, she attains far greater speed, able to run up to 75 miles an hr. Furthermore, Xenia's bite is strong enough to break through steel bars, snapping them like twigs. Though completely assuming a wolf form, Xen can utilize facultative bipedalism should the need arise, standing on her hind legs before bating at the opponent with razor sharp claws. However, she can only maintain this full form for roughly an hour; the complete transformation carries with it a rewiring of the brain that opens up and predisposes her to the animal's instincts. As such, she is constantly fighting for control to the point of exhaustion; conceding any ground leaves room for the animal to take over. Additionally, the constant breaking and remolding of her body, especially in hybrid and the full transformation places a physical strain on every ligament, joint, and pressure point of her frame. Turning back to her human form she equates with being "run over by a truck", and reduces her reaction time and physical capabilities to a weak bodied child for the next four to five hours. Said cool down time is even longer during a full moon; being exposed to the lunar light causes a chemical imbalance within her system that pulls the transformation out of her. She is involuntarily turned into a lycan while overwhelming her human mind with the desires of the wolf inside her. Xenia compares it to "blacking out" as she often wakes up the following morning having no idea where she went during that night, what she did, or how she ended up in her current location. Physical Attributes Trivia *She is based on Lunark from the franchise Noblesse.